Medical Coder education
Viewers who watched the pilot episode of J. Michael Straczynski's
Babylon 5 could be excused for wondering what all the fuss was
about. Characters are introduced to the Earth-led space station, the
Babylon 5, where species from all over the globe come to trade, do
business, and engage in diplomacy. Viewers are also introduced to
some of the hammiest acting this side of a high school play.
Between the airing of the pilot and the actual series, however,
things begin to come together. Straczynski's vision of a 5 year
story-arc were revolutionary at the time. Nowadays we have shows
like Lost where the writers have planned out their mysteries years
in advance, but in the 90s, Babylon 5 was one of the only shows to
plan story-arcs that would play out over the course of multiple
seasons.
Although a sci-fi show, Babylon 5 is less fantastic than its
contemporary, Star Trek. The space station where the characters work
is dirty, crowded, and dangerous. It is hardly the grim future of
Battlestar Galactica, but Babylon 5 presented a world where wars end
badly, good men died often, and the sadness of once great men runs
deep.
Babylon 5 introduces a cast of characters, many of them aliens in
extensive makeup, and forces the viewer to not only learn about
their people's culture but to care as well. The backgrounds of the
series' aliens are intricately detailed. For instance, the Minbari
are a complicated race of warrior-priests whose mercurial nature
make them difficult to read.
The show's reliance on political intrigue makes Babylon 5 a more
cerebral sci-fi show. Right from the very first episode, political
maneuvering and racial tensions are given just as much time as
sci-fi action adventure. Humans have formed the Earth Alliance after
barely avoiding annihilation in their last major war. Now, the
Babylon 5 acts much like an interstellar UN, providing the five
largest space empires a place to conduct diplomacy and desperately
cling to peace.
Of course, peace never lasts. Whether the threat comes from within
or without, war is always on the horizon. Babylon 5 explores the
concept of just and unjust war, the abuse of military power, and the
sometimes pressing need to enter into battle. Very rarely does the
show take the easy way out; politics and war have casualties and
there are lives lost in the wreckage.
Ten years before serialized television was most popular way to tell
a story, Straczynski was crafting an amazing televised novel on
basic cable. Although many of the CGI effects might appear dated to
our more sophisticated palette, even today Babylon 5 holds up as an
example of top notch writing for television. Whether you are a
sci-fi fan or not, Babylon 5 is a thought provoking, gripping piece
of modern fiction.
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